Abstract
Dating to roughly 80,000 to 70,000 years ago, components of the
Still Bay technocomplex of southern Africa and their potential
behavioural implications have been widely discussed. Stone points
with invasive retouch, as defined over 90 years ago by Goodwin
and van Riet Lowe, serve as markers for Still Bay assemblages, yet
many Still Bay sites remain undated and comprehensive,
comparable sets of data for their point assemblages remain
unpublished. Much of the Middle Stone Age at the site of Apollo
11 in Namibia was undated until 2010, when a potential Still Bay
component was announced. Although a Still Bay assemblage at
Apollo 11 would represent the most northwesterly and inland
expression of this technocomplex, its points have never been fully
analysed. This paper presents their morphometric data and an
interpretation of point-production strategies. These results are
then compared with data obtained for two South African sites:
Hollow Rock Shelter in the Western Cape and Umhlatuzana in
KwaZulu-Natal. This comparison demonstrates that whereas there
are no statistically significant differences in the morphometric
data sets between the three sites, there are both similarities and
differences in point-production strategies, cross-section shapes
and the use of raw materials for knapping. It is suggested that
these similarities and variations represent aspects of how
knowledge-transfer systems and knapping conventions were
followed on both intra-regional and inter-regional scales.